Here it is, the long-awaited NZ equivalent of my greatest hit singles/albums of all time list I made a while back. Just like last time, I’ll be presenting this as a countdown, meaning that each entry will be more successful than the last as we go down this list. The main difference here of course is that unlike here in Australia, there was only one chart in NZ over the years, meaning that there won’t be multiple entries from singles/albums from the late 80’s/90’s/00’s like there was on my Australian list. Also, I won’t be including entries from the RIANZ charts given how they didn’t track album sales and that they were based on popular votes rather than sales, that and there was only ever a top twenty which means there’s a good chance they were struggling to fill out the top twenty each week during its run.
#600
This wasn't even Steely Dan's biggest album in NZ like it was here in Australia, oh yeah, these guys had way more success in NZ throughout the 70's than they did here in Australia likely due to their local scene being too weak to push these guys aside in the mainstream.
#599
Jewel's second album was equally as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'd say her career trajectory was identical in both countries in the southern hemisphere except it took widely different paths in both countries going into the new millennium. All I'll say here is that her transition towards pop music was less of a surprise over there than it was over here.
#598
This managed to be more of a mainstream success for Joss Stone in NZ than it was here in Australia this year, perhaps because it like many other entries on this list that appeared on that side of my site didn't get sidelined over there in favour of the Australian Idol phenomenon which resulted in this years being very negatively received by music historians as far as the Australian music landscape was concerned.
#597
Well at least these guys had a bit more success in NZ prior to this greatest hits package becoming a huge success for the band, although their success at least skyrocketed after its success over there and even carried over to the member's solo material throughout the 80's, so it's not like it was little more than a pity success like it was here in Australia.
#596
I guess the kiwis were more interested in reliving the glory days of when Billy Joel released new music than us Aussies were, either that or they just wanted to make this greatest hits package a bigger success than it was over here given how much more successful it was over there back in the day.
#595
It was a new decade and close to not only a new century but also new millennium, all of this to say that Tom Jones should've been yesterday's news by this point and yet here he is with arguably the biggest album of his career due to him taking a page out of Santana's book by releasing a duets album with some of the hottest names in music at the time.
#594
This is the second time this album became successful in NZ throughout the 00's, it was a much bigger improvement over its initial release from two years prior given how much higher it appears on this list compared to my 2002 list.
#593
I get the feeling this was a success in Australia and NZ due to the success of the spin off band of these guys Green jelly from earlier in the decade, yeah it turns out Maynard James Keenan had multiple projects throughout his career including these two bands and A perfect circle in the new millennium.
#592
While this did have a slow start to its success over in NZ the previous year, it appears the kiwis were eventually won over by this debut album from Blue as it became a massive success for them this year due to how popular each of the singles were over there. I guess in a way, there was a third round of the boy band wars given how popular they and Westlife were during the first half of the decade over there.
#591
Not only was this predictably more of a success for Ray Charles in NZ given the kiwis fondness for RNB over us Aussies, but it also appears that it was an immediate success over there as well given how it appears on more than one of these lists which was the case for the Australian side of this site.
#590
Well, this had a similar trajectory for its success in NZ as it did here in Australia, Stealers wheel were a band the kiwis certainly heard of (at least according to the Listener charts) but didn't pay much mind to earlier in the decade for some reason. They likely would've changed their tune when lead single Gerry Rafferty scored a massive worldwide hit with this album and its lead single.
#589
Well, we just looked at the debut album from his protegee a moment ago, so now let's look at the second album from 50 cent which he released around the same time that somehow led to the two rappers having a falling out this year as there appears to be speculation that the success of this album hampered the success of the Game's album over in their native America for some reason.
#588
This was only a success in NZ following the success of their earlier entry on this list, I guess the kiwis really needed some incentive in making these guys one of the most popular bands of all time back in the day because I can't think of why else this only became a sleeper hit nearly two years after its initial release over there.
#587
It's a bit weird that Jenny Morris didn't see as much success with her albums in her homeland as she did here in Australia, granted her popularity only exploded over there due to how big she was over here with her earlier material, however you'd think she would've had more of her success translated to NZ than what she got. Still, this was a huge hit for her over there during the transition from the 80's to the 90's.
#586
Given how there wasn't a NZ equivalent of MasterChef during the late 00's (at least to my knowledge there wasn't) this meant that this song was only a hit once over there for Katy Perry which goes to show how popular it was given how its placement on this list is nearly identical to its placement on the Australian side of this site.
#585
Well, the kiwis were certainly in love with this cult classic back in the day like we Aussies were, as such the soundtrack became a massive hit over there helping it become a massive box office hit in Hollywood as well as cement its status as a cultural phenomenon.
#584
This was Cold Chisel's only successful album in NZ mainly through the strength of its lead single which incidentally was the second single here in Australia, hence why it was a much bigger hit over there compared to here in their homeland. Lead singer Jimmy Barnes would go on to have massive success over there once the band called it quits two years later, making this a launching pad for his own success.
#583
At least Kenny Rogers was able to score one successful album in NZ back in the day, although I would've been surprised if this was a flop over there given how its lead single was one of the most successful hits of the 80's worldwide. His popularity all but died out after this year even in his native America.
#582
For whatever reason, these guys were completely inescapable in NZ throughout the decade given how all of their albums as well as several of their singles managed to achieve far greater success over there than they did over here throughout the decade. I guess the kiwis were bigger fans of their brand of lovestruck ballads over us Aussies despite them having better marketing over here back in the day.
#581
It appears that the kiwis weren't as impressed with this debut single from James Blunt as we Aussies were as though it was a massive success over there, it didn't reach the dizzying heights that it achieved over there or indeed throughout the rest of the world. Indeed, the other singles from his debut album didn't achieve any success over there, although that didn't prevent the album itself from being a massive success.
#580
Kellee Patterson is interesting in that she became the first woman of colour to compete in the miss America pageant earlier in the decade, she didn't win as that honour would go to Vanessa Williams over a decade later, however her presence certainly shaped up how the series was conducted. She tried to have a singing career which resulted in her scoring a huge hit with this over in NZ of all places.
#579
While this was only a modest success at best here in Australia for Kings of Leon, it was more of a concrete success over in NZ likely due to the band heavily benefitting from the kiwis incorporating their digital sales onto their main charts which is something we Aussies didn't do until later in the decade. As such, this was able to have a more respectable ranking on this list.
#578
Given how inescapably popular this album was the previous year here in Australia, it only makes sense that the kiwis would check out what all the fuss was about from Jason Mraz which resulted in the lead single becoming more popular over there than it was over here and thus making this album a success for him as well.
#577
Although this didn't reach the dizzying heights of her earlier material, this was regardless a massive success for Bic Runga proving that she still had plenty of love from her fellow kiwis this far into the 21st century as opposed to her older sister who had already fallen into obscurity by this point in time. Sadly she would follow suit with her next album as that was a massive flop for her later in the decade.
#576
This turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for the kiwis as not only were the singles not as popular over there, but the album itself didn't bring in the numbers like his previous two albums did. That said it was still a huge success for Lionel Richie, which I'm sure led to his fans frustrations over there as it took him ten years to follow it up with his fourth album.
#575
These guys were among the biggest names in music throughout the 80's in NZ, as such this greatest hits package managed to be a huge success over there for basically the last stretch of the 80's.
#574
I guess there's little surprise that this was a massive hit for Celine Dion in NZ, heck she never found much success with her singles throughout the 90's, so it failing to produce a hit for her worldwide wasn't much of a hinderance for its success over there like it was in most parts of the world. Although she's attempted to recapture the success she had with her entries on this site over the years, those attempts have sadly been futile.
#573
Given how she saw massive success with her earlier collaboration with Smashproof on this list, it only makes sense that Gin Wigmore would find massive success on her own with her debut single as a lead artist which naturally her fellow kiwis gravitated towards just as the decade was coming to an end. This set her up as one of the hottest new names of the 2010's despite her popularity fizzling out by 2012.
#572
This was a good year for country artists, wasn't it? Here we have Cristy Lane scoring her one and only hit in NZ with this ballad that wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world for her except of course for the Billboard country charts which didn't seem to have any relevancy by this point (I can't imagine them having any relevancy now.)
#571
This was a success in NZ under similar circumstances to its success here in Australia, namely that George was worried his career was over when it was discovered he was a queer man (as if it wasn't already obvious) and releasing this album to find out if that was a deal breaker for fans. It wasn't, although he didn't have much success in NZ going into the new millennium.
#570
Phil did achieve moderate success in NZ with Genesis in the 70's, so this solo debut from him didn't come out of nowhere over there in terms of its success and popularity. Even so its success was a bit lacking compared to what it achieved here given how it was only a bit success as opposed to it being one of the biggest albums of the decade over here and his native UK.
#569
It may have been panned by critics and audiences alike, however that didn't prevent this album from Eminem being a massive success for him worldwide likely due to it having a trainwreck feel to it to the point where many people (me included) speculate that it was deliberately sabotaged in order to scare off people who considered him to be a martyr for their childhoods.
#568
Following the success, he had with Linda Ronstadt on their duet "Don't know much," Aaron Neville was able to score success with his family band the Neville brothers for the Mel Gibson flick of the same name which remains one of his less popular films out of his filmography. The film was named after a Leonard Cohen track which of course the group covered for its theme song.
#567
It looks like the kiwis were much more appreciative of the TV adaptation of the cult classic Fame than we Aussies were, although I feel this was more a success due to them ignoring the film at the start of the decade given how both it and its soundtrack was a huge flop over there compared to the rest of the world.
#566
This wasn't as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia, mainly because it didn't continue to chart over there as the Blonde ambition tour became more and more successful worldwide for the queen of pop. One thing I didn't say on the Australian side of my site is that it didn't end up falling off our charts until 1994 which means it had charted here for four consecutive years.
#565
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was in Australia for Barbra Streisand, again we have the involvement of the Brothers Gibb to thank for that as she didn't have much success on her own throughout the 70's over there when it came to her music. Indeed, she wouldn't have much success over there after this save for a cover of the Cats showstopper "Memory."
#564
This was one of the last albums to be released from the 80's in NZ, it goes to show that even moving towards the 90's, classical music was still one of the biggest genres in the mainstream over there when it comes to albums. Carl Doy was a NZ pianist who I'm guessing was their answer to Richard Clayderman.
#563
Much like here in Australia, it appears the kiwis wanted to hear Fergie display her vocal talents over her being provocative like her other singles on her first solo album given how this fourth single from the album remains her biggest hit to date in both countries (not counting her work with BEP of course.) It would take her eleven years to release her second album, by which time people had moved on from her music.
#562
I'm not sure why this song managed to be even more successful in the southern hemisphere than in Jamelia's native UK, however that was the case as the uplifting dance track proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for the British singer this year. Although her second hit "Thank you" was a minor success over there, it was too minor to make another appearance on this site.
#561
It looks like the kiwis were also able to appreciate this cover of the Who classic that Limp Bizkit made for their (at the time) final album Results may vary, it should be noted that this is a very misleading lead single for the album as it was nothing like the nu metal that was found on the album and indeed throughout their previous catalogue.
#560
Yep, that album cover isn't controversial in the slightest, I can't imagine anyone being put off by this reggae cover of a Drifters track from British singer CJ Lewis with the image of a woman flashing him. Evidently the kiwis and his fellow Brits weren't as this became a massive hit in both countries and even allowed him to score a string of hits in NZ as the decade went on.
#559
This managed to become a massive success for the British boy band in NZ mainly due to their incorporation of RNB during a time where that was inescapable in NZ, they were kind of the 90's equivalent of Blue in that regard even though that boy band would achieve infinitely more success in the 00's both in NZ and Australia.
#558
There was little doubt that this collaboration between Sporty Spice and Left Eye Lopez would be more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because the latter came from TLC who was more popular overall over there than they were over here. Apparently, people have declared this to be an LGBT ballad as they interpret the lyrics from both women to be addressed to each other, it's not the worst interpretation of a song I've ever seen.
#557
There were no signs of the Brothers Gibb slowing down as the 70's was coming to an end in NZ, indeed this lead single to their album Spirits having flow was a massive success for them over there much more so than it was over here despite it not even being a disco hit from them. Like the rest of the world, their transition into the 80's was a disaster as their next album was a huge failure for them over there.
#556
This was a massive hit for Elvis Presley in the early 60's, so it kind of makes sense that Ry Cooder didn't have any success with his rendition of this ballad anywhere in the world except for NZ who didn't even have a chart when the original was popular. Because this was a massive hit for the rockabilly throwback artist, it allowed the album to be a massive success over there were it was only moderately successful here.
#555
It appears that Bob Dylan had a resurgence in popularity throughout the 80's in NZ, this is interesting because his popularity was close to non-existent anywhere else in the world due to people not caring for him adapting the trends of the decade in his music.
#554
There were no signs of R.E.M slowing down anywhere in the world except for their native America when they released their third album of the 90's, in fact they were more popular in the UK by this point as they had struggled to find any success on the Billboard charts with this album as did everyone at the time who wasn't signed to a major label.
#553
Well, this might not have been as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia, however this duet between the two stars of Grease was nonetheless one of the biggest hits of the decade in NZ thanks to the chemistry they display on the track as well as it being a bop to listen to even to this day.
#552
Much like here in Australia, this one and only album that anyone knows from Al Stewart was a massive success in NZ likely due to the novelty of what he named the album and the big hit that came from it.
#551
These guys were more successful in NZ than they were here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis were more enamoured by their flashy music videos which would explain why their debut single wasn't a hit over there as that didn't have a flashy music video to go with it. Here we have their second album which many agree is where their creativity peaked when it came to their visuals.
#550
You'd think these guys would've had more success in Australia around this time given how they seemed like the perfect band to be promoted on Countdown back in the day, alas they flopped here but were a huge deal in NZ beginning with this album which should explain why they had so much more success over there in the 80's than they did here.
#549
It appears the London Symphony Orchestra wasn't the first orchestra to have a successful album in NZ as their own symphony orchestra managed to score a huge success with their renditions of classical music from the golden age of classical music.
#548
This was another successful ballad to come out of Rod Stewart this decade, one that I'm pretty sure led to a rather nasty rumour about him concerning sailors that I won't bother repeating on this entry.
#547
This was a massive success for the NZ hard rock band Push push, so much so that it even had mild success here in Australia when it was released as a single here due to its success over there as well as it being a rock track. Sadly, this was the best they could do over here, although they found better luck in their homeland as their album was a moderate success for them.
#546
It appears the kiwis were more excited to see what else Green day had in store following the success of American idiot from earlier in the decade then we Aussies did, granted this was still a massive hit here, however it wasn't quite as popular as it was over there for the trio. Indeed, this promised them a lucrative career going into the 2010's, however that wasn't to be due to that decade's allergic reaction to rock music.
#545
While this still wasn't Enya's biggest hit in NZ, it was a massive success for her and the biggest album she released in the 90's which should bring comfort to her fans who widely consider this to be her magnum opus.
#544
It appears the kiwis were not only bigger fans of S club 7 overall given how much more successful this album and its singles were over there compared to over here, but they were also instantly on board with Simon Fueller's second project following his dismissal from the Spice girls two years prior. As such, it was a huge success both at the end of the 90's and the start of the 00's over there.
#543
While this wasn't as inescapable in NZ as her solo debut was from a few years prior, it was still a massive success for Alison Moyet thanks to the kiwis still being in love with her voice which allowed the album to spawn two more hits for her over there. Unfortunately, this cycle wouldn't repeat for a third time as her third album was a massive flop over there.
#542
There was no shortage of classical music making it big in the NZ music scene this decade, here we have the debut album of Yulia Beredenko who was a Russian born teenage opera singer who won over her fellow kiwis with this album enough to make it among the most successful of the decade over there. She managed to have a second successful album later in the decade before she faded into obscurity.
#541
Well, we all know that cliche of making music made for coffee houses, Martin Winch took that cliche and actually made an album with the idea of it playing in coffee houses and marketed it as such which allowed it to become a massive success in his native NZ this year.
#540
Just like her previous album, Norah Jones was able to find more success with her sophomore album in NZ than she did here in Australia, I'm guessing because in addition to throwback jazz being more in vogue over in NZ than it was down under, there also wasn't much competition she had to face given how NZ idol didn't completely dominate their music industry when it premiered this year like Australian idol did for our music industry.
#539
OK I was able to be nice towards this thing on the Australian side of my site, mainly because its popularity didn't really extend past the music videos over here which meant each of their entries had a fairly short shelf life in our music scene. It appears this thing was a genuine household name in NZ however as this also managed to appear on more than one of these lists due to its refusal to leave their charts.
#538
This was the biggest hit to come from Craig David over in NZ, likely because it remains his most popular track in his catalogue to date and that the kiwis never allowed album sales to impact the success of said albums singles. Even though Usher already had moderate success in the southern hemisphere prior to Craig's album, it no doubt led to the American singer finding more success in both countries after the fact.
#537
Well, this would've been completely out of leftfield in NZ considering how successful his earlier family friendly hip hop was over there, at least we Aussies could pretend this was simply the Fresh prince scoring his first hit as a gangster rapper to help audiences mature with him in the show. This didn't prevent the song from being a massive worldwide hit for him and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
#536
This was the second single to come from Abba's self-titled album, given how "Mamma Mia" wasn't released until the following year, it allowed this song to be a massive success over there without having to compete with their other single which proved to be much more popular here in Australia.
#535
One thing I'll say here that I didn't mention on the Australian side of this site is that this didn't get to number one in the duo's native UK, this was due to the song being blocked from the top spot from Bryan Adams mammoth sixteen week run at the top spot over there. It's a reason as to why people have come to despise that song over the years due to it blocking a fun joke song aimed at narcissists.
#534
Well so much for this being one of the most pointless albums to come out of the decade (according to the A.V club) this was a massive success for Vonda Shephard who was previously a failed jazz performer from the 80's before finding massive success due to her role as the jazz performer within the show's universe. I guess the success of the show was able to help her translate that success to her own music career worldwide as this was also a success throughout Europe.
#533
This was one of two successful opera albums to come from Russel Watson over in NZ this decade, although this apparently needed an exclusive release over there given how it was that specific version to make it big over there and not the original version. Even so, it was a massive hit for the opera singer and likely opened up doors for the likes of Amici forever and Il Divo to crossover there later in the decade.
#532
Again, this greatest hits package may have been a massive success in NZ back in the day, however it didn't achieve the reputation is has for being the most successful album of all time until the third or fourth time that it became a hit worldwide for the band.
#531
This came at the end of a very troubling time in Elton John's life as he had finished dealing with a lot of personal demons was fighting throughout the 80's, as such this greatest hits album proved to be more successful in NZ than the one he released a decade prior with the exact name as it was everywhere else in the world.
#530
As promised from the Australian side of this site, I'll talk about the song in question as it saw no such hinderance over in NZ like it did down under with its popularity. This was the lead single to Usher's magnum opus Confessions where he makes a club track with the assistance of Lil Jon and Ludacris that was so well received upon its initial release, many consider it to be the song that defines the 00's.
#529
I have no idea why Alicia Key's second album bombed in NZ given how much more popular her debut album was over there than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis also got distracted with the bootleg "Karmastition" like we Aussies did around that time (check it out here if you're not familiar with it.) Fortunately, she was able to bounce back in both countries with this lead single to her third album.
#528
Well, this was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, although Simple dreams wasn't as successful over there as it was here so perhaps this song ate up all of the success from the album in NZ that it didn't down under. In any case, this was her biggest hit over there as "Don't know much" wasn't as warmly received in the early 90's as it was here in Australia.
#527
The kiwis were certainly in love with TLC throughout the 90's, so it stands to reason their anthem against loser boyfriends or "scrubs" as they call them would be a massive success over there for the trio. Interestingly the rap verse from Left eye Lopez was only included in the video as it isn't anywhere to be found on the single or even album versions.
#526
It appears we Aussies got the release schedule for Inner circle wrong as this was meant to be the second single to crossover internationally for the Jamaican band and yet we had it as their first hit single. As a result, it not only wasn't as big here as it could've been, but they also remain a one hit wonder despite them scoring multiple hits over in NZ throughout the 90's.
#525
It appears the kiwis were more on board with making this a success for Ini Kamoze than us Aussies back in the day (it must be due to that "Land of a 1000 dances" interpolation) as this managed to be a huge hit over there around the time it became a huge Billboard chart topper for the reggae musician.
#524
This was more of an immediate success in NZ than it was in Australia, likely because the kiwis were more accepting of disco music initially than us Aussies but likely because they were instantly heartfelt by the tale of perseverance in the song. They would score a second minor hit with "Hot to trot" before they faded into obscurity just like everywhere else in the world.
#523
This was Sherbet's only hit outside of Australia, at least it's their most iconic work given how it's a song about how Daryl has figured out his partner cheated on him and how he uses cricket metaphors to alert the person to his awareness. This was a big hit throughout Europe due it arguably being a bigger hit in NZ than it was here.
#522
The kiwis had such fond memories of UB40 that this three for one deal managed to become a massive success over there during the midpoint of the decade, if this isn't an endorsement of how popular the band was over there during their heyday then I don't know what is.
#521
I guess the kiwis were a bit intrigued with these guys earlier in the decade given how their debut album did create some buzz for them over in NZ that certainly didn't happen here in Australia. I'm not sure why this album in particular took off over there given how the kiwis seemed to have a vibrant indie scene, I guess they took a look at the Triple J year end list for 1996 and noticed their presence on there which convinced them to give the band a second chance.
#520
It was a bit of a surprise that this was only barely a success here in Australia back in the day, fortunately the kiwis were way more impressed with the works of Supertramp during their heyday which is why this manages to not only have a much higher appearance on this side of my site, but also multiple appearances given how long it charted for over there compared to over here.
#519
This was a success for a band who I would've thought would be more popular back in the day given how much the music community loves these guys, kind of like how the music community loves to go on about Sonic youth and Melanie Martinez despite neither of them having any mainstream success in their time. At least these guys had one big album in NZ back in the day, it's about ten times the success those two had.
#518
Well at least this wasn't quite as big in NZ as their two earlier entries on this list, I say this more because their previous two entries have been the songs to survive over the years despite this lead single from the Saturday night fever soundtrack having a bunch of covers from artists over the decades. In fact, it's probably due to these covers that this song has since lost its place in pop culture since its release.
#517
This took a while for it to become a success in NZ, mainly because the Offspring had their success here in Australia strictly because Triple J promoted this album the previous year as it was a massive flop in their native America. It crossed over to NZ once the two lead singles appeared high on the year end list for 1994, thus enabling the kiwis to check out what all the fuss was about here.
#516
Given the success of the album's second single in NZ, it was fitting that the debut album from Kid Creole would be a massive success over there even if it wasn't as big as it was in the UK where all three of the singles were massive hits on the British charts.
#515
Although we Aussies largely ignored these guys back in the day, this wasn't the case with the kiwis who openly embraced Steely Dan likely due to them not having a Countdown equivalent to discourage them from making these guys a success over there. Indeed, soft rock in general seemed to be far more popular with the kiwis this decade given what we've seen on these lists so far on this side of my site.
#514
This was the second and final album to come from DD Smash (Dave Dobbyn Smash for short) a new wave band best known for making Dave Dobbyn a household name before he took the NZ music scene by storm with his solo material. It was a huge hit due to it spawning multiple singles on their charts, as were most of their local albums that did well over there.
#513
This was originally released to minor success for J Williams, however it exploded in popularity when the deluxe edition came out which contained some of the biggest hits during the first stretch of the 2010's in NZ. Like Dane Rumble, this being J Williams only album remains puzzling to this day given how popular it and the singles were.
#512
This album sat on shelves for over a year ignored in NZ just like it did everywhere else in the world, in fact the only difference between its fate over there from its fate here in Australia is that it wasn't quite as successful over there likely due to the kiwis not being that impressed with the singles like we Aussies were.
#511
Although these guys never found much success with their singles over in NZ (at least compared to here in Australia they didn't) I don't think they would've minded so much given how massively popular each of their albums were during their time in the spotlight. Even though this failed to spawn a hit for them over there, its popularity happened the same time that the lead single became a hit over here.
#510
Well given how this orchestral album based on renditions of Split Enz's back catalogue was a massive success for the supergroup Enzso here in Australia, it only makes sense that this would be at least somewhat more successful in NZ for the group in their homeland thanks to the star power of the performers on the album.
#509
This was the final successful album these guys were able to achieve anywhere in the world, granted their fourth album did spawn a huge hit with "Shape of my heart," however their popularity quickly dwindled going into the new millennium due to that being the end of the boy band wars.
#508
This also wasn't quite as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, although it was still much more popular over there than their native America which should give you an idea of how much more well-loved they were internationally than they were in their homeland given that they remain a one hit wonder on Billboard with this track.
#507
Well, this proved to be even more of a success for the Fugees in NZ than it was here in Australia, although the fact that this spawned a huge hit worldwide was bound to make it a success everywhere that allowed for hip hop to make it in the mainstream. Who knows if the trio would be able to continue their popularity if they made another album together.
#506
It was a new century and yet classical music was still all the rage in NZ as Kiri Te Kanawa managed to score a massive success this decade with a classical album based on covers of popular music from NZ. This did lead to a rise in interest for both classical music and local artists throughout the decade for what it's worth.
#505
I guess not having Bernie Taupin as a full-time collaborator didn't seem to harm this albums success in NZ, heck in Australia this was only a hit due to Elton performing the lead single on Countdown which allowed that to be a hit for him here back in the day. That said, the two would officially reunite the following year for arguably their biggest album in NZ and have a more permanent reunion.
#504
Given how Matchbox 20 didn't have as much success in NZ as they did here in Australia, it only makes sense that this greatest hits package wasn't quite the success it was over there as it was over here for the band. That said, it did become a massive hit for the band, which goes to show that there was a decent fanbase over there for the band even if it was pitiful compared to their fanbase down under.
#503
Unlike in Australia where this needed the release of a CD in order to find success, the kiwis immediately gravitated towards this remaster's album upon its initial release ten years after the demise of Led zeppelin. In fact, this wasn't even charting over there when this became a success down under to give you an idea of how much the kiwis didn't care whether this was on CD or vinyl.
#502
I'm dumbfounded this wasn't a hit here in Australia, heck I could've even accepted the Eric Clapton version from the following year as a huge hit but that was also a flop down under back in the day. Fortunately, the kiwis instantly recognised this as a classic as it became a massive success for JJ Cale back in the day. It makes even less sense this flopped here as he previously had a hit with "Crazy mama" earlier in the decade.
#501
They already had three big hits from Rattle and hum in NZ, that did nothing to prevent this from being a massive success for U2 over there as they would close out the 80's with a sombre ballad after having a string of hits with some of their more bombastic material in their catalogue.
